Tax tech companies that caused our housing crisis

The Merchandise Mart Building on Market Street in San Francisco is home to Twitter and other tech firms.

The Merchandise Mart Building on Market Street in San Francisco is...

Our city needs a dedicated, stable funding source to build and preserve desperately needed affordable housing. Homeowners are paying their share through the housing bond and other taxes. It’s time for the big tech companies to pay their fair share, too.

A recent poll found that 83 percent of voters polled were clear about the cause of our housing affordability crisis — the influx of more than 10,000 new, highly paid employees that the technology industry brought to San Francisco. In addition, more than two-thirds of voters believe we need more innovative housing solutions.

Case in point: Our landlord wants to sell our home for a fair price and would prefer to sell to us, but the city’s housing programs to help families stay in the city are inadequate and under-resourced. To fight to stay, we joined a community coalition that has been calling on the mayor’s office for real investment and innovative solutions.

A 1.5 percent payroll tax on technology companies would directly target the source of the crisis — the rapid growth of a highly paid tech workforce — to fund a solution that allows teachers, students, bus drivers and small businesses to keep calling San Francisco home.

Taxing our tech firms

The proposed tax on these companies would generate an estimated $115 million annually and amounts to far less than they pay for employee perks such as free beer and massages. They can afford to pay to help house those they are forcing out on the streets and out of our city.

The last few years of extreme inequality, displacement and higher rents signal a time to finally listen to the people directly affected by the crisis rather than wealthy special interests capitalizing on it.

Street encampments are just one symptom of our housing crisis and the city’s inability to deal with it. Hundreds of people have been forced to live on the street because of dramatic increases in rent. We are not building housing to serve these populations, however. Most of the city’s new construction is luxury housing that is never going to bring the cost of housing down for most residents.

Some claim this tax will “kill jobs,” which is highly unlikely. Technology companies are located in the San Francisco Bay Area precisely because of access to a highly skilled workforce, sources of financing and the attraction of a beautiful and exciting city we have all helped to create.

So the question is: Should tenants and taxpayers subsidize millionaires and billionaires who are driving up the cost of housing but not paying for the impact?

As teachers and residents of San Francisco, we have invested our heart and soul into this city. We are fighting for the right to stay in the home we have created, near the students we strive to help share in the city’s prosperity, in the city we love.

Our polling found that other residents are ready to address the influence of big money, too. They would work to get their elected leaders to listen to those most affected by this crisis, and make sure that San Francisco is not for sale.